Various protocols in biological or chemical research involve performing controlled reactions. The designated reactions can then be observed or detected and subsequent analysis can help identify or reveal properties of chemicals involved in the reaction.
In some multiplex assays, an unknown analyte having an identifiable label (e.g. fluorescent label) can be exposed to thousands of known probes under controlled conditions. Each known probe can be deposited into a corresponding well of a microplate. Observing any chemical reactions that occur between the known probes and the unknown analyte within the wells can help identify or reveal properties of the analyte. Other examples of such protocols include known DNA sequencing processes, such as sequencing-by-synthesis (SBS) or cyclic-array sequencing.
In some fluorescent-detection protocols, an optical system is used to direct excitation light onto fluorophores, e.g. fluorescently-labeled analytes and to also detect the fluorescent emissions signal light that can emit from the analytes having attached fluorophores. However, such optical systems can be relatively expensive and require a larger benchtop footprint. For example, the optical system can include an arrangement of lenses, filters, and light sources.
In other proposed detection systems, the controlled reactions in a flow cell define by a solid-state light sensor array (e.g. a complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) detector or a charge coupled device (CCD) detector). These systems do not involve a large optical assembly to detect the fluorescent emissions.